Kabuto

"Greetings, ninja lords from Konoha. I am Ryuzan, the person in charge of hosting you esteemed guests this time. This is my assistant, Tama. Your rooms are ready. Please follow me, lords." A thin, middle-aged Stone Ninja walked up to Xing Ran and his two companions, taking over from the Anbu member and leading the group towards the upper floors of the stone building.

Beside the Stone Ninja named Ryuzan stood a young boy with white hair and round-framed glasses. The boy was refined in appearance, with a neat face. He was about 1.5 meters tall, though his youthful features revealed his young age. He stood beside Ryuzan with a kind smile, remaining silent.

"Next, we have prepared rooms for you. The three of you will have a suite with three rooms and a living area. This arrangement is deliberate. Ninja rarely act alone when traveling, and separating during accommodation makes them easy targets for the enemy. Therefore, to avoid awkwardness, countries use these suites when hosting ninja from other forces."

The hospitality this time was clearly more professional. It began with smiling self-introductions, creating a feeling of warmth. While these ninja were only doing reception work, their intelligence gathering and counter-espionage capabilities were top-notch. They usually gathered information from foreign visitors through conversation and analyzed its authenticity by observing their expressions and demeanor.

Sometimes, they even engaged in subversion. The real ninja world is not like an anime; the female ninja here have methods of seduction and temptation to extract information. Selling their bodies when necessary was a common practice.

"..." Xing Ran had remained silent since meeting the Stone Ninja reception staff. He certainly wasn't expecting to be seduced.

If one observed closely, they would notice that Xing Ran seemed particularly interested in the child named Tama.

As Anbu companions, the two tasked with monitoring and observation had already noticed Xing Ran's unusual behavior. After the Stone Ninja receptionists left the suite occupied by Xing Ran and his two companions, Junpei spoke up, "Xing Ran, what's wrong? Are there any issues with these two Stone Ninja?"

Junpei was a little nervous at this point. His mind, slightly more active than Yamaki Atsushi's, had already conjured up countless scenarios.

What worried Junpei the most was the possibility that Xing Ran might suddenly say he saw the middle-aged ninja named Ryuzan during his last encounter where their team was wiped out. If that were the case, it would be a major problem. It would solidify the accusation that the Stone Ninja attacked Konoha, and war would become unavoidable.

As for why he didn't suspect the young boy, Junpei reasoned that the Iwagakure wouldn't be foolish enough to send such a young child on such a mission.

It was extremely rare for children like Kakashi to enter the battlefield and make a name for themselves; most children sent to war were simply fodder.

"No problem, what are you thinking? You don't seriously think the Stone Ninja would send someone who was involved in the mission to assassinate us to host us, do you? That kind of idiotic behavior is probably something only you would come up with." Xing Ran was slightly taken aback but quickly realized his expression had been odd. Seeing Junpei's nervous and worried face, his mind raced. He understood what Junpei was anxious about and smiled as he playfully chided Junpei, subtly shifting the topic.

"Then what were you thinking just now? Your expression was so serious. It wasn't a trivial matter, was it?" Yamaki Atsushi wasn't swayed by Xing Ran's attempt to change the subject.

"..." Xing Ran felt a bit helpless and also realized something. Apart from the time he was attacked, these two rarely interacted with each other. Most of the time, they acted in unison, or rather, they acted in unison towards him.

Could it be that these two Anbu members, besides carrying out diplomatic missions, were sent by the Hokage to monitor me? Since I'm the sole survivor of the team's annihilation, the possibility of being turned by the enemy is very high. Xing Ran didn't dare to think further. Konoha, despite its bright facade, harbored much darkness behind the scenes. It was understandable that they wouldn't trust me. No wonder the Third Hokage had spoken to me at length about the inexplicable Will of Fire.

Seeing Xing Ran fall silent, not only Yamaki Atsushi but also Junpei, who had been about to defend himself after being led astray by the conversation, turned their attention back to Xing Ran.

"We have now entered Iwagakure, which means the main part of the mission has officially begun. The Hokage instructed me before we left to convey a message of peace to the Tsuchikage, as a participant and the sole survivor, to ensure the hard-won peace between our two nations. While traveling, I, as a Sensor Ninja, had to remain constantly vigilant. Now that we are in a relatively safe place, it's time to carefully consider the wording of some mission-related terms, which is why I was momentarily distracted." Xing Ran knew he couldn't evade this. He certainly couldn't reveal his true thoughts to these two. His superhuman brain worked at lightning speed, and within a few breaths, he came up with a plausible and respectable explanation.

As expected, after hearing Xing Ran's explanation, the two Konoha Anbu members visibly relaxed. After exchanging a brief word of encouragement, the three returned to their respective rooms to sleep.

However, it was unknown how many of them actually slept. Xing Ran's X-ray vision easily detected that although the two Anbu members were lying in their beds, they were both lost in thought.

Xing Ran soon began to ponder his own thoughts.

That young boy just now! He must be Yakushi Kabuto.

White hair, round-framed glasses, refined demeanor, and a kind impression.

When Xing Ran first saw Yakushi Kabuto beside Ryuzan, his heart was thrown into turmoil, and he almost cried out. Children in the ninja world generally developed early. At this point in time, he couldn't even be ten years old yet, yet he had already grown to about 1.5 meters. If it weren't for another person he felt familiar with appearing alongside him, Xing Ran wouldn't have connected Tama with Yakushi Kabuto.

That's right, the female Stone Ninja Anbu who gave him a sense of closeness was Yakushi Nonō. At first, she wasn't wearing glasses, and Xing Ran hadn't really recognized her. But when both Kabuto and Nonō appeared in the same place, Xing Ran quickly realized. Although their current appearances differed from the storyline, they were still recognizable.

The current time is Konoha 50. Itachi and Gekkou Hayate are graduating from the Ninja Academy this year, but another major event is happening in the same year: Kabuto's blackening and recruitment by Orochimaru into Otogakure. Later, he was assigned to Konoha as a spy, officially changing his name from Kabuto to Yakushi Kabuto.

In the official records of his previous life, Yakushi Kabuto graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of 10 in Konoha 51. In the original TV storyline, Kabuto was tricked by Danzo into leaving his adoptive mother, Yakushi Nonō, to become a spy. He worked as a spy for 5 years. Judging by Kabuto's height at the time, he was only about four or five years old. Combining these pieces of information, the period when Kabuto and his adoptive mother, Yakushi Nonō, were arranged by Danzo to assassinate each other is this year, when Kabuto was not yet 10 years old.

To be continued, please recommend.